Half of his eight to haeeison w



(ModeL) M. J. PARMER. Machine for Making Plug Tobacco, No. 229,813.Patented July 13, 1880.

F162. End

Z L "il IIIII l F'IGZa. -w

i* L i 1 FIGS.

FIG. 6.

U mfizessesr fizveizfor Mm .421. M

, edwey PEfERS. PNDTO-LIKNOGHAFHER. WASHINGTON. D 0.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MAROELLUS J. FARMER, OF LYNOHBURG, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF OFHIS RIGHT TO HARRISON W. HOLLEY, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR MAKING PLUG-TOBACCO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 229,813, dated July 13,1880.

Application filed April 30, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARGELLUS J. FARMER, a citizen of the United States,resident at Lynchburg, in the county of Campbell and State of Virginia,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for MakingPlug-Tobacco; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention has for its object to furnish a machine for makingplug-tobacco; and it consists in the construction and arrangement of theseveral parts, hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation, and Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are detail views of parts of myinvention.

this the upright frame, supported on a suitable base, a, and it iscomposed of the side posts, a? 0?, the central cross-beam, a, and a topcross-beam, a The cross-beam a is provided with a central arm, a, whichprojects downward, and is provided with a vertical opening orguide-channel, a in which the shaft of the piston slides. The uppercross-beam, a is constructed with the upward-projecting arm a", in whichtheshaft of the reciprocating piston slides, as hereinafter described.The frame a has formed through its side posts a a and through thecros'srbeams a a the vertical slots or mortises a a, in which the leverswork which move the piston and compressor.

b is the platform, projecting outward on both sides of the frame andresting on the top of the central cross-beam, a. It has a centralrecess, I), surrounding the upper end'of the vertical opening a", whichpermits the piston to fall flush with its upper surface. ,0 is thepiston, supported on itsshaft c. The shaft 0 slides in the vertical.guidechannel a d is a compressor-head placed just below the uppercross-beam,- n and it has a width equal to the press box placedbetweenit and the pis- (ModeL) ton 0. At its outer ends it has the shortdownward-projecting flanges d, which are beveled slightly on their outersides, and are adapted to hold the plug of tobacco steadily in its placewhile being pressed and to actuate the retaining-slide fixed on thepress-box.

The compressor is supported on and moved by a shaft, d which moves inthe vertical guide-channel a in the upper cross-beam, a and acts inopposition to the piston 0, so that the plugs of tobacco are pressedbetween it and said piston, as will be hereinafter explained.

cis the press-box, made of the required width and length to give propersize to the plug of tobacco. Its side boards, 6, project slightly pastthe end boards, 0 and it is held in the frame by suitableretaining-strips c fixed to the posts a a and between which and the endboards, c e there are numerous spaces, a, in which are placed theflexible rods f. The press-box is made vertically deep enough to hold anumber of plugs of tobacco at the same time.

The flexible rods f extend from the upper to the lower end of thepress-box, and are fixed by a rod, pin, or other suitable fastenings, f,at a point about equidistant between the said upper and lower ends.

On the upper ends of the rods f there are formed the horizontal flangesor slides g, which project inward over the edges of the top of the box 6just far enough to pass under the ends of the plug of tobacco, which isabove the top of the box and next the compressor-head d. These rods arealso provided with the outwardly-inclined lips g, which are arranged tobe engaged by the flanges d on the head d the moment the latter beginsto descend, and thus throw back the slides, so that the next followingplug of tobacco will not be interfered with as it is pressed upward andout of the box against the said head d. v

The under portions of the rods fare provided with short hooked ends h,which pass under the lower open end of the box 0 and prevent the plugsfrom' dropping downward when the piston c is lowered for the purpose ofbringing up a new supply of tobacco.

The inner ends of the lips h are slightly 7 chine.

turned up, so that they are more easily pressed outward by thenew-formed plugs which are being forced upward from the feed-drawer 1.".

The press-box e is supported in the frame a in such position that thefeed-drawer k can be slipped between its lower end and the platform I).

The feed-drawer k has no fixed bottom, but is open above and below, sothat the piston passes through it in the operation of the ma- A loosebottom is provided, which is laid on the ledges or lips k, and on thisloose bottom is laid the necessary quantity of tobacco for making aplug.

The drawer is made deep enough to hold the tobacco for several plugs,the several quantities being separated by pieces of tin or othersuitable material until drawer is full to its top. When full the draweris pushed into place below the box e, and the tobacco is forced by thepiston c upward into the box 6. The piston is then lowered and thedrawer refilled and put in place below the box, and the contents forcedupward as before. That which was first forced into the box 0 is forcedstill farther upward, and the top plug is pressed out at the upper endand against the presserhead d. The piston and presser-head, acting inopposition, press the several layers of tobacco into form. Whensufliciently pressed, the top plug, which is now above the top of thebox e, is removed laterally from below the presser-head, and the processof filling the drawer and pressing is repeated.

When all the tobacco is pressed into plugs the box e can be cleared byhaving a few blocks of wood in forms of plugs of tobacco, which may beplaced in the drawer I. and pressed upward, thus forcing all the tobaccoout at the top.

The piston and presser-head are operated by a lifting-lever, m, apivoted lever, m, a hand-lever, n, and connecting-rods 0, p, and p.

The lifting-lever m is passed horizontally through the seat a. andthrough a slot in the stem 0 of piston 0. Its ends project slightlyoutward from the posts a a3, and it is fixed to the stem 0 by a suitablepin or bolt. The lever m is put through the slot 0 in the uppercross-beam, a and through a slot in the stem d of the presser-head d. Itis fixed to the stem d by a suitable pin, and it is pivoted on a pin orfnlcrum,m It has the same length of the lever m, and it has one of itsends connected thereto by the vertical rod 0. The fulcrum 'm. is placedbetween the point of attachment to the shaft d and the end to which therod 0 is connected, so that the shaft 01 will be moved upward at thesame time that the rod 0 is moved downward, and vice versa. Thehand-lever n is fulerumed at n to the side post, a and is provided witha projecting end, n, as shown.

12 is a link or rod which connects the outer end of the projection nwith the end of the lifting-lever m, and p is a link or rod whichconnects the lever 11- with the end of the pivoted lever m. The rods 12and p are connected on opposite sides of the fulcrum n, so that theywill move in opposite directions when the lever n is raised or lowered.

The rod 0 is on the opposite side of the frame a from the rods 11 p andlever a. When the lever n is moved the lifting-lever or bar 111. islifted, and is preserved in a horizontal position while the lever mturns on its fulcrum.

By the arrangement herein shown and described a long stroke is given tothe piston c, which pushes it entirely through the drawer k and slightlyinto the lower end of the box 0. At the same time the presser-head d isonly slightly depressed. By reason of the short distance between thefulcrum m and the point of attachment to the shaft d great force isexerted by the lever m on the presser-head.

This machine is simple in its construction and can be manufactured atvery slight cost. It is efiicient and rapid in its operation.

It will be understood, also, that when the first tobacco is placed inthe drawer the pressbox is filled with false blocks. This is done inorder that the pressing shall commence at the outset. As the tobacco isforced upward the blocks are pressed out at the upper end of thepress-box and removed, the same as though they were plugs of tobacco.

Having thus described my invention, what 1 claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In a machine for the manufacture of plugtobacco, the combination,with the piston c and the presser-head (1, arranged in opposition toeach other, of the lifting-lever m, fixed to the shaft 0' of piston c,the lever m, fulcrumed at m to the frame a, and having the stem d of thepresser d fixed thereto, the rod 0, connecting the ends of the lovers mand m, the links p and 1', having one of their ends attached to the endsof the levers m and m and their opposite ends pivoted to the handlever non opposite sides of the fulcrum n, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

2. In a machine for making plug-tobacco, having a piston, c, and apresser-head, (1, provided with lips or flanges d, arranged asdescribed, the press-box e, supported in the frame a between the pistonc and presser d, and provided with the flexible bars .fi'having theprojections g and outward-inclined lips g on their upper ends and thehooked ends 71. on their lower ends, and the feed-box k, having an opentop and bottom and provided with ledges k, all arranged to operatesubstantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand andseal this 29th day of April, 1880.

MARCELLUS J. FARMER.

